Butler County's Kacey Proctor is State's Attorney of the Year

For his work on both state and local levels, Butler County, Missouri's Kacey Proctor was presented with the State's Attorney of the Year Award.

Proctor said he is "honored and humbled," but knows many other people who also deserve this recognition.

"I go to work every day and I work alongside prosecutors across the state who all deserve that award. You know, we as prosecutors have one of the few jobs where our job literally is to do the right thing and to seek justice, and everybody who goes to work every day to that end and to seek justice deserves the same," he said. He later added, "I would like to acknowledge my wife, Ashley Proctor, who is my hero, and say that without her love, support and advice, I would have never achieved this award or any amount of success at all."

The award was presented at the annual Missouri Bar Association meeting in Springfield last week.

Butler County Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett praised Proctor's dedication.

"It's a really a great honor. And it's a well-deserved award. Kacey Proctor's worked hard to represent the interests of the community. And I'm glad to see him honored for that work," Pritchett said.

Candidates for the State's Attorney of the Year Award are nominated from among the 115 state's attorneys in Missouri, and the winner is selected by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (MAPA). Proctor explained, "I was told that the recommendation was made in part due to my trial performance, but also due to the work that I've done with MAPA ... on certain bills that affect public safety over the last couple of years."

This year he testified on behalf of MAPA to the Missouri House of Representatives regarding Senate bills impacting the criminal justice system.

Pritchett praised Proctor for his diligence in all areas of practice. Notably, he is always prepared for circuit court trials and weekly dockets, which can include 180 to 210 cases in an average week.

"I know he spends time in advance looking at those cases so that our dockets can be handled more efficiently," the judge said.

Proctor has spent his 11-year law career in rural Missouri. He was elected as Butler County prosecutor in 2018.

"The citizens of our county are just outstanding people and it's really nice to go and be able to work every day to serve such great people. But another thing that I really enjoy about (working) here in Butler County is the law enforcement that we have, our law enforcement community. They really strive to do the right thing and to go after the bad guy," he said.

Proctor graduated from Saint Louis University School of Law. He was previously an assistant prosecuting attorney in Taney and Ripley counties and interim prosecuting attorney for Carter County. He has also served as the municipal prosecutor for the City of Poplar Bluff. He is also a captain in the Missouri Army National Guard and served as the tactical officer with the 35th Engineer Brigade overseas, a platoon leader in the 1138th Engineer Company (Sapper) in Farmington and the commanding officer of the 1142nd Engineer Company (Sapper) in West Plains. He is currently an engineer officer in the 1140th Engineer Battalion in Cape Girardeau. Proctor's military awards include the Global War on Terrorism Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Army Commendation Medal.

Proctor and his wife have three children, ages 4 to 8.